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I have “quit” WoW a grand total of… well actually I have lost count at this point. It is a great game, one that has been the cause of many a triumphs and digital glories, but also one that stagnates over time and becomes too “casual-unfriendly”. I have also come to realize that WoW is a great game if you are at the top of the food pile, the 10% or so of guilds that raid regularly, accomplish goals and manage to dent the world in their own way. If you don’t have a guild to run things with, you’re either on your own, or you are playing with a rather large contingent of blithering idiots who can’t tell their two handed mace from their short sword.

Over the course of time I have started to run out of time. In college, I could get back from classes, do a bit of work, raid for four hours on a stretch, play a little more, and still have time to go out with friends for a couple of drinks. Now there are several days when I can’t play anything because everything is packed in so tightly, there is no wiggle room. It has been brought to my attention on a few occasions that I “need to learn how to say ‘no'”, and I “need to lessen the load on my plate.” But all of that is easier said than done when you are involved in as many things as I am.

The ‘gain’ vs. ‘fun’ Debate

WoW, by the end of it had become a chore. I logged in every day, and because of the lack of time, I would try to maximize my ‘gain’ in the game. Veteran MMO players will understand this. There is a very thin line between maximizing your gain from the game (be it loot, gold, experience, or anything else that somehow advances your character in some dimension), and just having fun. Years ago, leading a guild, downing the toughest raid bosses was fun, because I had all the time in the world to spare. Now everything was centered around the maximum gain. I realized soon that I hated what I was doing in WoW. I would log in every day, finish the compulsory dailies, and try strenuously to find a half-competent group to run a 5-man with, followed by some AH manipulation and then log off till the next day.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

It was monotonous, boring, and more than a little tedious. By the end I was just trying to justify paying for the subscription in-game, because I somehow owed it to those measly $15 to put in my time and advance my character in whichever small way possible. And during all this, I wasn’t having any fun at all.